22 Bedtime Habits That Could Be Wrecking Your Sleep

Sleep problems can make it harder to function during the day, affecting everything from concentration to mood and energy. The amount of sleep people need varies with age, but the CDC recommends that most adults get at least seven hours a night. Quality matters, too. A full night in bed does not help much if you are waking up constantly or struggling to fall asleep in the first place.

Paying attention to your own sleep patterns can help you spot habits that seem to make things better or worse. A regular schedule, a comfortable bedroom, and a quiet wind-down period before bed are among the basics recommended by sleep experts. If sleep problems keep happening despite those changes, it is worth talking with a healthcare provider rather than simply accepting exhaustion as part of life.

To look at some of the habits that can interfere with a good night's sleep, 24/7 Tempo reviewed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, MedlinePlus, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

A drink may make you feel sleepy at first, which is probably why alcohol has such a stubborn reputation as a sleep aid. The problem comes later. Alcohol can make sleep lighter and increase the likelihood that you will wake up during the night as its effects wear off.

That means falling asleep quickly after a few drinks does not necessarily translate into good sleep. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends avoiding alcohol close to bedtime, particularly if you already have trouble staying asleep through the night.

Phones, tablets, computers, and televisions expose your eyes to artificial light at exactly the time your body is preparing for darkness. Bright evening light can interfere with the body's normal release of melatonin, a hormone involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle. Short-wavelength blue light is part of that effect, although brightness and how long you stare at the screen also matter.

The CDC recommends turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime. If putting the phone down entirely is not happening, reducing the brightness or using a blue light filter may reduce some of the evening light exposure. Either way, doomscrolling from six inches away in a dark bedroom is not exactly helping the cause.

A nap can be useful when you are tired, but timing matters. Sleeping late in the afternoon or evening can reduce the natural sleep pressure that builds while you are awake, making it harder to fall asleep when your regular bedtime arrives.

There is no universal rule that everyone must stop napping exactly six hours before bed. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute advises people who have trouble falling asleep at night to take naps earlier in the afternoon and keep them short. For adults, it recommends naps of no more than about 20 minutes.

Staying hydrated matters, but bedtime is not necessarily the best moment to catch up on everything you forgot to drink during the day. Taking in a large amount of fluid shortly before sleep can mean more nighttime trips to the bathroom, which can break up otherwise solid sleep.

If nighttime bathroom trips regularly wake you, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends limiting fluids close to bedtime. Persistent nighttime urination can also have medical causes, so frequent wake-ups are worth discussing with a healthcare provider rather than simply cutting back on water all day.

Stress and anxiety are both associated with trouble falling asleep, so launching into a heated argument five minutes before bed is unlikely to make winding down any easier. An emotionally intense conversation can leave your mind replaying what was said long after everyone else has stopped talking.

If the conversation is not urgent, it may be better to save it for a time when everyone is awake enough to deal with it properly. Writing down the issue or making yourself a quick reminder can also let you put it aside for the night without pretending it does not need to be addressed.

Squeezing in one more email or opening the laptop for "five minutes" can easily turn into an extra hour of work. Beyond the time it steals from sleep, late-night work can keep you mentally engaged when you are trying to transition into a quieter part of the day. Screens can add another source of bright artificial light.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends using the hour before bed for quiet time. Creating some separation between work and sleep can be as simple as setting a cutoff for email, putting the laptop away, and giving your brain a chance to stop thinking about tomorrow's problems tonight.

Caffeine is a stimulant, which is precisely why so many people reach for coffee when they need to wake up. That same quality becomes considerably less useful when you are trying to fall asleep. Caffeine can interfere with sleep even when you drink it hours before getting into bed.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute notes that caffeine's effects can last for as long as eight hours, although sensitivity varies from person to person. If sleep is a problem, skipping caffeine in the late afternoon and evening is a reasonable place to start. Remember that caffeine is not limited to coffee. Tea, soda, energy drinks, chocolate, and some medications can contain it, too.

Dirty bedsheets do not automatically cause insomnia, but your sleep environment should at least be comfortable. Bedding collects sweat, body oils, skin cells, dust, and other debris over time. For people with allergies, bedding can also collect allergens such as dust-mite material and pet dander.

Regularly washing your bedding keeps the space cleaner and may be particularly important if allergens bother you at night. There is no magic washing schedule that guarantees better sleep, but if your sheets smell, feel grimy, or contain enough crumbs to qualify as a midnight snack, it is probably laundry day.

A large meal shortly before bed can leave you uncomfortable when you are trying to sleep. Major sleep-health organizations recommend avoiding heavy or large meals within a few hours of bedtime. Carbohydrates are not uniquely responsible for the problem, so there is no need to treat every piece of bread like an enemy after sunset.

If you are genuinely hungry, a light snack is generally a better option than either going to bed uncomfortable or sitting down to an enormous late-night dinner. People who frequently deal with reflux or another medical condition affected by meal timing may need more specific advice from a healthcare provider.

Claims that eating sugar before bed automatically prevents REM sleep go too far. Still, loading up on sugary foods immediately before turning in is not a great bedtime habit. The CDC recommends avoiding foods high in sugar, along with alcohol and high-fat foods, within a few hours of bedtime as part of its general sleep guidance.

If you need something to eat before bed, keep it light rather than turning the kitchen into dessert round two. Be aware that some sweets can bring another sleep-disrupting ingredient along for the ride. Chocolate, particularly darker varieties, naturally contains some caffeine.

There is no rule saying an action movie or horror film will ruin everyone's sleep. Some people can watch two hours of chaos, shut off the television, and be asleep almost immediately. For others, suspenseful or frightening content leaves them feeling alert, anxious, or mentally wound up when they would rather be settling down.

The screen itself can also be part of the problem because bright artificial light late in the evening can interfere with the sleep-wake cycle. If you notice that intense movies leave you staring at the ceiling afterward, move them earlier in the evening or switch to something calmer as bedtime approaches.

There is no particular music genre that everyone needs to ban before bed. Music can actually be relaxing for some people. The important question is how it affects you. Loud, fast, or emotionally stimulating music may leave one person energized, while somebody else can apparently fall asleep with a guitar solo rattling the windows.

If music is part of your bedtime routine, choose something you personally find relaxing and keep the volume at a comfortable level. The goal is not to find a scientifically approved bedtime genre. It is to create a quieter transition from being awake and active to actually being ready for sleep.

Nicotine is a stimulant, so smoking shortly before bed can interfere with your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. The connection does not require a complicated neurotransmitter explanation. Nicotine simply works against the process of settling down for the night.

Avoiding nicotine close to bedtime may reduce that particular source of sleep disruption, but moving the last cigarette a little earlier does not eliminate the much larger health risks that come with smoking. Anyone who wants to quit can talk with a healthcare provider about counseling, medications, and other evidence-based options that can make quitting more manageable.

There is no useful blanket rule telling people to avoid any medication that "elevates neurotransmitters" before bed. Different medications work in very different ways, and some are intentionally taken at night. At the same time, certain prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, herbs, and supplements can contribute to insomnia or interfere with sleep.

If you notice that your sleep changed after starting a medication or changing a dose, bring it up with your doctor or pharmacist. Do not stop a prescribed medication or move it to a different time of day on your own. A healthcare professional can tell you whether timing is actually part of the problem and whether an adjustment is appropriate.

If you normally fall asleep around 10 p.m., climbing into bed at 8 p.m. does not guarantee that your body will suddenly cooperate. Going to bed before you are sleepy can leave you lying awake and getting increasingly frustrated, particularly if your internal sleep schedule has not changed.

Sleep specialists generally recommend keeping a consistent sleep and wake schedule and going to bed when you are actually sleepy. If your schedule needs to change, consistency matters more than randomly moving bedtime back and forth from one night to the next.

A phone call from somebody you love is not inherently bad for your sleep. The problem is what happens when a five-minute conversation at 9:45 p.m. becomes an hour-long recap of every event since breakfast and pushes your normal bedtime well into the future.

Keeping reasonably consistent sleep and wake times is one of the most common recommendations for healthy sleep. If a late call is not urgent, letting it go to voicemail or explaining that you will call back tomorrow can protect that schedule without requiring you to disappear from society every evening.

Your bedding should not make getting comfortable harder than it needs to be. Scratchy fabric, bedding that traps too much heat, or materials that irritate your skin can make your sleep environment less comfortable and leave you adjusting pillows and blankets instead of settling down.

There is no single fabric that research has established as the best choice for everyone. Different fibers can affect warmth and thermal comfort differently, and personal preference matters. Pick bedding that feels comfortable against your skin and keeps you at a temperature that works for you rather than assuming an expensive material automatically guarantees better sleep.

A bedroom that is uncomfortably warm can interfere with sleep. Major sleep-health recommendations generally favor a cool, dark, and quiet bedroom, although the temperature that feels comfortable will differ from one person to another.

If you routinely wake up overheated, try adjusting the thermostat, bedding, pajamas, or airflow rather than chasing a single supposedly perfect temperature. Frequent or severe night sweats can also have medical causes and are worth discussing with a healthcare provider if they continue.

Cool is not the same thing as freezing. Temperature extremes in either direction can make it harder to fall asleep or stay comfortable through the night. If you are shivering, piling on blankets, or waking because you cannot get warm, the room is probably cooler than it needs to be for you.

You will often see a narrow temperature range presented online as the universal sweet spot for sleep, but major health agencies are less rigid. The National Institute on Aging recommends keeping the bedroom at a comfortable temperature that is neither too hot nor too cold. Comfort is the useful target here, not winning an argument with the thermostat.

Answering one text message from bed is not going to destroy your ability to sleep forever. But for people who struggle with insomnia, regularly working, watching television, scrolling, or handling other awake-time activities in bed can weaken the mental association between getting into bed and going to sleep.

This idea is part of stimulus control, an established component of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. The approach encourages people with insomnia to reserve the bed primarily for sleep and sex and to get out of bed for a quiet activity if they remain awake and unable to sleep. Your grocery list can probably survive until you reach the kitchen.

Going to bed hungry can be uncomfortable enough to keep some people awake. That does not mean a healthy person's blood sugar will necessarily crash overnight simply because they skipped a bedtime snack, and the normal action of insulin is not a stimulating process that automatically wakes people from sleep.

If hunger is keeping you awake, sleep guidance from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute allows for a light snack before bed while still recommending that large meals be avoided. People with diabetes or another condition that affects blood sugar should follow the meal and medication plan provided by their healthcare team rather than relying on general bedtime advice.

A consistent wind-down routine can make the transition to sleep easier, especially when it is paired with regular sleep and wake times. The routine does not need to be elaborate. Reading, taking a warm bath, listening to quiet music, or doing another relaxing activity can all work if they help you shift out of daytime mode.

The best routine is one you can repeat without turning bedtime into another chore. If better habits are not helping and you regularly struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, or feel rested during the day, talk with a healthcare provider. Persistent insomnia can have underlying causes, and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is an established treatment rather than another round of generic advice to simply "try to relax."